The firm, Cowen and Company, says Intel will provide half of the LTE modem chips in the new phone, which is expected to show up in the fall. News of Intel’s design win was first reported in VentureBeat in 2015, but the 50% estimate is the highest guess of Intel’s cut of the modem business we’ve heard so far (Qualcomm will also be providing modems for the iPhone 7).

While the money is important, it’s not the top line news here. The history is that Intel was seriously late to the mobile party, ceding most of the chip business to rival Qualcomm. The modem deal with Apple could provide the company not only a beachhead to get more chips inside the world’s most popular phone, but also a compelling new foothold in the mobile chip business generally.